Pensacola Beach Shark Tooth ID and Age?

[Aisha]

I need help identifying this shark tooth that I found on Pensacola Beach today.  I would like to also know the age of the tooth if possible. Thank you! 

[Macrophyseter]

Welcome to the forum Aisha! 

That's a wonderful tooth you've found!

 

The tooth is of a requiem shark (Carcharhinus spp.), Imo it could be a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) to be specific although I cannot be sure on that, as requiem sharks consist of so many species with so similar teeth. I believe that Pensacola Beach's main fossil formation is Pensacola Clay (a sandy clay and sand consisting unit), dated Middle-Upper Miocene. This is according to Rupert (1993).

[Aisha]

6 minutes ago, Macrophyseter said:

Welcome to the forum Aisha! 

That's a wonderful tooth you've found!

 

The tooth is of a requiem shark (Carcharhinus spp.), Imo it could be a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) to be specific although I cannot be sure on that, as requiem sharks consist of so many species with so similar teeth. I believe that Pensacola Beach's main fossil formation is Pensacola Clay (a sandy clay and sand consisting unit), dated Middle-Upper Miocene. This is according to Rupert (1993).

Thank you so much! So you really think this tooth could be millions of years old?  I am so puzzled because it really doesn’t look that old and I don’t want to get my hopes up haha.  I tried to do some research on my own and it said it could be dated Holocene.  

[Macrophyseter]

33 minutes ago, Aisha said:

Thank you so much! So you really think this tooth could be millions of years old?  I am so puzzled because it really doesn’t look that old and I don’t want to get my hopes up haha.  I tried to do some research on my own and it said it could be dated Holocene.  

Some fossils can commonly be mistaken as not a fossil due to such elegant preservation. This is especially the case with enameled teeth like shark teeth, where slow fossilization carefully preserves the glossiness of enamel or the porousness of bone. The type of rock the fossil was preserved in can also affect its color. Sometimes, the rock contains minerals that create a white color, sometimes making a shark tooth from it look more modern than fossil at first glance. But no worries, the tooth is still very, very old. 

 

Here's an example of an extinct tiger shark relative from Aurora, North Carolina:

Doesn't it look somewhat modern? The tooth is in fact actually Miocene in age. The minerals that fossilized this tooth were probably "white-colored", creating this white, modern-like coloring.

 

If you look in the most general of geologic maps of the East coast, you'll usually see that the beaches are shown as Holocene, and the rocks get older as it goes farther inland (usually, but not always). However, maps like these often fail to represent underlying rock formations of different ages that could easily have been widely exposed. The best way you can get accurate information is to find a geological survey document of the site and see which analysis best fits your description of the rock you've found this fossil in. Searching for other user's fossil finds in the same location through this forum can also sometimes do.

[Aisha]

20 hours ago, Macrophyseter said:

Some fossils can commonly be mistaken as not a fossil due to such elegant preservation. This is especially the case with enameled teeth like shark teeth, where slow fossilization carefully preserves the glossiness of enamel or the porousness of bone. The type of rock the fossil was preserved in can also affect its color. Sometimes, the rock contains minerals that create a white color, sometimes making a shark tooth from it look more modern than fossil at first glance. But no worries, the tooth is still very, very old. 

 

Here's an example of an extinct tiger shark relative from Aurora, North Carolina:

Doesn't it look somewhat modern? The tooth is in fact actually Miocene in age. The minerals that fossilized this tooth were probably "white-colored", creating this white, modern-like coloring.

 

If you look in the most general of geologic maps of the East coast, you'll usually see that the beaches are shown as Holocene, and the rocks get older as it goes farther inland (usually, but not always). However, maps like these often fail to represent underlying rock formations of different ages that could easily have been widely exposed. The best way you can get accurate information is to find a geological survey document of the site and see which analysis best fits your description of the rock you've found this fossil in. Searching for other user's fossil finds in the same location through this forum can also sometimes do.

Thank you so much for all of this information! I went back to the beach today but unfortunately I did not have any luck finding another shark tooth.    Hopefully I will find another one soon!